When the trial ended, Qin Siyang's vision went black, and he returned to the Ocean once more.
The enormous Shield Whale was nowhere to be seen.
Qin Siyang sighed. "The Shield Whale's lifesaving skill is incredibly useful. I was hoping to have Old Li and the others take turns passing its trial too, but it vanished in the blink of an eye."
"Still, I need to tell them how to pass the Shield Whale's trial. If they happen to run into it, they'll be able to pass and get the lifesaving [Shield Ridge]."
As Qin Siyang talked to himself inwardly, he sensed the Godslayer Spear's thoughts again.
[Don't waste your time.]
"Huh? What do you mean? Are you saying they won't be able to find the Shield Whale?"
[No. I mean that the method you used to pass the trial was a complete mess. That's the only way I can describe it. Nobody else could replicate it. Are you sure telling them would do any good?]
Qin Siyang thought it over.
That did seem to make sense.
[I told you ages ago to look for a normal way to pass the trial, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted on pulling all these fancy tricks. Now do you understand why I tried to talk you out of it?]
That got Qin Siyang worked up too. "Why didn't you tell me that back then?! The trial's already over, and now you're acting all wise after the fact!"
[I can't interfere too much with your trial. You're lucky I even gave you a little hint. Did you expect me to hold your hand through it?]
"..."
[And you call yourself a "genius." You're making this spear laugh itself silly.]
"..."
Qin Siyang was about to argue further when he suddenly felt something unusual